Wool = Love

I have found the best way to my let my kids know how much I love them, is to let them know I thought about them in some way. For my daughter it usually involves chocolate. I buy my daughter a really dark chocolate bar when I am at Trader Joe’s or the frozen chocolate croissants that we defrost and let raise overnight and bake for breakfast together. My oldest son likes when I can get a nice dress shirt or tie on clearance. Their favorite supper or dessert is always a hit. The second oldest son likes leftovers from Sunday supper that I package into lunches for him for a couple of days after he goes back to his college apartment. My eleven year old is especially easy, spaghetti with meat sauce is his favorite meal and you would have though I hung the moon when I found a box of white chocolate covered caramels. One thing they have in common is that they ALL love warm feet, and they know that I think about them when I make them something. I can’t knit fast enough to keep up with their craving of wool socks in the winter, so I supplement with some store bought ones and those are their favorite stocking stuffers. A couple of years ago I made them each a pair of felted wool slippers and they all wear them (husband included), all the time. So far they are holding up pretty well for the third season. My youngest has just started to get big holes in the first layer of the sole as you can see in the picture, but since he has outgrown them, I have to knit a new pair anyway. His requested colors this time are silver and gold. I have gotten the first one knit and will make the other one this week. Then I need to shrink them down (no his feet haven’t grown that much) in hot water in my washing machine . They fit just right when I am finished.

If you need a quick Christmas gift, they are the perfect thing. They knit up fast and everyone I know who has made them swears how much they are loved. Even though the pattern is very well written it can be a bit tricky the first time you knit it, especially if you are unfamiliar with reading a multi-sized pattern, decreases, short rows and picking up stitches. I have a class coming up at Silk Road Textiles beginning November 17. If you can cast on, knit, purl and bind off comfortably, you can lean to make these and have them be the big hit under the Christmas tree too.